A’s re-sign suspended starter Bartolo Colon to $3 million deal

The A’s have managed to bring one of their free agents back into the fold already – and the guy who is returning is something of a surprise. Bartolo Colon, who still must serve five more games of a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use, agreed to terms on a one-year deal on Saturday.

As I reported on Twitter this afternoon, Colon will earn $3 million, and he also has a generous incentives package, two sources told The Chronicle.

The suspension, which came down in August as the A’s were trying to make a run for the playoffs, didn’t faze the A’s at all. This is the club, remember, that signed Manny Ramirez to a minor-league deal last spring as he was still serving a suspension for PEDs.

“We understand in any of these suspension situations that things are handled by the league and the Players’ Association under rules set by the CBA,” A’s general manager Billy Beane told me today. “Over the years, there have been quite a few players in this situation. That’s why there is an agreement. Once he’s served the suspension, he’s paid his debt.”

With the addition of Colon, the A’s rotation would look something like this: Brett Anderson, Jarrod Parker, Colon, Tommy Milone, A.J. Griffin, with Dan Straily also a possibility. So does this signing mean that the A’s are saying goodbye to right-hander Brandon McCarthy?

Beane said that is not the case at all. He called the team’s interest in McCarthy “independent” of the Colon deal. The A’s value pitching depth, and the plus with both Colon and McCarthy, as Beane sees it, is familiarity and comfort.

“Like Bartolo, we have a history with Mac,” Beane said. “That makes everyone a little more comfortable.”

It’s no secret that if the A’s cannot come to terms with yet another free agent, shortstop Stephen Drew, they will need to find another one on the free-agent market – or more likely trade for one. That means that extra pitching depth could come in very handy as a trade chip, though Beane said he has no plans to deal any of the starters on the current roster, including Straily.

Pitching depth is something the A’s prize in general. Colon and McCarthy took three trips, combined, to the DL, and Brett Anderson was out until August after Tommy John surgery. Griffin spent a stint on the DL. Few teams have their entire rotations healthy an entire season.

Colon made $2 million last year, and this year he is up to $3 million despite coming off a suspension and despite the fact that he will turn 40 during the season. The A’s, like many other teams, appear to believe that salaries for starting pitchers, in particular, are about to skyrocket, and that few starters will be available on one-year deals.

Colon was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts last season, and the A’s liked the fact that he pounded the strike zone and considered him a good influence on the young starters in that regard.

“He was only going to get beat with his best stuff, and it’s great for a young staff to see that,” Beane said. “He was very professional, and a great influence on the mound. There’s a risk when signing any veteran pticher, but there is significant comfort in already knowing the player well, no question.”

Colon was recently struck in the face by a line drive during winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but he is fine and has pitched since then, with a 2.89 ERA in two starts.

He was a popular player in the A’s clubhouse in 2012, with a cheerful, joking demeanor even on days he started, and when he was suspended, his teammates all expressed disappointment rather than anger, because he was so well-liked.